Written Answers Friday 14 October 2005

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards are meeting the recommended response time of 60 minutes to administer thrombolytics for those suffering heart attacks and what strategies are in place to help meet this response time in rural areas.

Mr Andy Kerr: Following an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), treatment with thrombolytic drugs can reduce heart muscle damage and offer a better chance of survival. The benefits of thrombolysis are much greater if the treatment is administered as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms, particularly within the first hour. Data on door to needle time is not currently collected centrally, but it will be once the Scottish Clinical Information CHD system is in place and collecting data in the new year.

  Recently, there have been developments in pre-hospital thrombolysis – which of course can be administered more quickly and renders thrombolytic treatment after arrival at hospital unnecessary. Following successful trials in Angus in 2003-04, the Scottish Ambulance Service has begun to roll out the use of thrombolytic therapy by paramedics across Scotland. This will significantly reduce the average call to needle time, particularly in remote and rural areas.

Employment

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to help women workers over 50, who have been out of work for less than six months, back to work.

Allan Wilson: The Executive's adult vocational skills programme for unemployed people, Training for Work, is available to people aged over 50 from the first day of unemployment. There are a number of local initiatives, supported by Executive and European funds, to help the unemployed, such as the Full Employment Areas Initiative in Glasgow and Genderwise programmes to close the gender gap in the labour market. The UK Government's Action Teams for Jobs offer early entry to employment support to people aged over 50 in Dundee, East Ayrshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Highlands and Islands and West Dunbartonshire.

General Practitioners

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for an appointment to see a GP in each NHS board in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not collected at a national level; nor held centrally. The waiting time for patients to see a GP is dependent on a number of factors including clinical need.

Health

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to reduce the waiting times for, and priority given to, post-mastectomy reconstruction surgery, especially surgery delayed before the advances in treatment that allow current cases of reconstruction to be dealt with at the same time as the mastectomy.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are several types of reconstructive breast surgery. Certain types of immediate reconstructions can be performed by a specially trained breast surgeon. More complicated methods require plastic surgery input and some highly complex procedures such as reconstructions which are delayed for clinical or personal choice, are performed only by plastic surgeons.

  Breast reconstruction should be discussed with patients prior to mastectomy. In accordance with NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) Standards each regional breast cancer network is able to offer patients immediate reconstruction.

  For reasons of clinical priority if a patient chooses immediate breast reconstruction because of breast carcinoma, they take precedence over a patient who opted to delay breast reconstruction or where it was clinically inappropriate to undertake immediate breast reconstruction.

  A range of actions has been taken or are under way in each of the three regional network areas. For example, for patients in the West of Scotland NHS Greater Glasgow provides regional breast reconstruction services via the plastic surgery unit at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and specific local actions are set out in the board’s local health plan. In the North of Scotland NHS Highland appointed a consultant breast and oncoplastic surgeon in 2003 with immediate and some delayed reconstruction now available at Raigmore Hospital. South East Scotland has a fellowship to allow breast surgeons to learn about reconstruction and specialist registrars are trained in reconstruction techniques so that more patients who choose to do so and where it is clinically appropriate may have immediate reconstruction.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients in each (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee, and (d) Aberdeen parliamentary constituency area were diagnosed with coronary heart disease compared with the national average in each of the last five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of patients discharged from acute hospitals with a main diagnosis of coronary heart disease in the years 2000-04 in each Parliamentary Constituency within Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen City areas are shown in the following tables. The crude rates per 100,000 population and the age sex standardised rates per 100,000 population are also shown.

  These figures show that the standardised rate for Scotland has fallen by 9.7% from 485.3 to 438.0 between 2000 and 2004.

  The highest rates in 2000 were in Glasgow Springburn (760.6), Glasgow Baillieston (722.5) and Glasgow Shettleston (709.3). The lowest rates were in Edinburgh West (362.6), Edinburgh Pentlands (391.4) and Aberdeen South (404.0).

  The highest rates in 2004 were in Glasgow Shettleston (623.3), Glasgow Springburn (616.6), and Glasgow Baillieston (614.9). The lowest rates were in Edinburgh West (316.1), Edinburgh Pentlands (335.8) and Edinburgh South (348.3).

  

2000


 
Patients1
Crude rate per 100,000 population2
Age standardised rate per 100,000 population3


Scotland
29,128
575.5
485.3


Aberdeen Central
335
505.1
478.7


Aberdeen North
383
550.9
481.2


Aberdeen South
387
507.3
404.0


Dundee East
479
649.1
520.1


Dundee West
476
669.0
573.9


Edinburgh Central
314
409.5
437.5


Edinburgh East & Musselburgh
491
656.3
530.9


Edinburgh North & Leith
389
522.4
514.9


Edinburgh Pentlands
347
445.3
391.4


Edinburgh South
355
446.9
410.8


Edinburgh West
378
473.5
362.6


Glasgow Anniesland
417
648.1
547.3


Glasgow Baillieston
490
773.1
722.5


Glasgow Cathcart
352
556.7
499.8


Glasgow Govan
343
568.6
577.6


Glasgow Kelvin
298
456.2
502.2


Glasgow Maryhill
442
706.5
680.0


Glasgow Pollock
498
782.8
667.4


Glasgow Rutherglen
389
599.0
518.7


Glasgow Shettleston
453
792.1
709.3


Glasgow Springburn
558
819.9
760.6



  

2001


 
Patients1
Crude rate per 100,000 population2
Age standardised rate per 100,000 population3


Scotland
28,529
563.7
474.5


Aberdeen Central
346
521.7
469.9


Aberdeen North
405
582.6
518.0


Aberdeen South
375
491.6
398.4


Dundee East
464
628.8
505.5


Dundee West
424
595.9
513.3


Edinburgh Central
318
414.7
440.1


Edinburgh East & Musselburgh
476
636.2
515.6


Edinburgh North & Leith
333
447.2
445.3


Edinburgh Pentlands
323
414.5
372.4


Edinburgh South
358
450.6
401.9


Edinburgh West
412
516.1
395.1


Glasgow Anniesland
430
668.3
552.8


Glasgow Baillieston
485
765.2
715.7


Glasgow Cathcart
342
540.9
477.3


Glasgow Govan
350
580.2
580.1


Glasgow Kelvin
287
439.4
481.9


Glasgow Maryhill
387
618.6
605.8


Glasgow Pollock
464
729.4
643.5


Glasgow Rutherglen
375
577.5
487.7


Glasgow Shettleston
440
769.4
688.5


Glasgow Springburn
497
730.3
680.9



  

2002


 
Patients1
Crude rate per 100,000 population2
Age standardised rate per 100,000 population3


Scotland
28,701
567.1
474.1


Aberdeen Central
346
521.7
489.9


Aberdeen North
365
525.0
466.1


Aberdeen South
429
562.4
436.5


Dundee East
504
683.0
538.6


Dundee West
410
576.2
483.7


Edinburgh Central
302
393.8
413.1


Edinburgh East & Musselburgh
437
584.1
457.5


Edinburgh North & Leith
347
466.0
465.1


Edinburgh Pentlands
353
453.0
399.8


Edinburgh South
353
444.3
392.4


Edinburgh West
413
517.3
398.5


Glasgow Anniesland
467
725.8
608.2


Glasgow Baillieston
489
771.5
716.4


Glasgow Cathcart
316
499.8
433.5


Glasgow Govan
320
530.4
521.8


Glasgow Kelvin
281
430.2
494.0


Glasgow Maryhill
401
641.0
616.9


Glasgow Pollock
423
664.9
582.4


Glasgow Rutherglen
345
531.3
435.4


Glasgow Shettleston
427
746.7
643.8


Glasgow Springburn
507
745.0
673.7



  

2003


 
Patients1
Crude rate per 100,000 population2
Age standardised rate per 100,000 population3


Scotland
27,993
553.1
462.9


Aberdeen Central
321
484.0
450.4


Aberdeen North
372
535.1
472.9


Aberdeen South
381
499.5
393.9


Dundee East
505
684.4
538.9


Dundee West
412
579.0
475.7


Edinburgh Central
262
341.7
360.0


Edinburgh East & Musselburgh
450
601.5
482.1


Edinburgh North & Leith
304
408.3
416.5


Edinburgh Pentlands
317
406.8
358.7


Edinburgh South
335
421.7
372.7


Edinburgh West
382
478.5
353.1


Glasgow Anniesland
396
615.5
514.3


Glasgow Baillieston
484
763.6
703.4


Glasgow Cathcart
308
487.1
426.7


Glasgow Govan
318
527.1
527.9


Glasgow Kelvin
240
367.4
398.2


Glasgow Maryhill
384
613.8
580.6


Glasgow Pollock
438
688.5
603.8


Glasgow Rutherglen
349
537.4
467.4


Glasgow Shettleston
425
743.2
648.3


Glasgow Springburn
478
702.4
658.8



  

2004


 
Patients1
Crude rate per 100,000 population2
Age standardised rate per 100,000 population3


Scotland
26,611
525.8
438.0


Aberdeen Central
290
437.2
403.4


Aberdeen North
339
487.6
435.9


Aberdeen South
364
477.2
366.2


Dundee East
475
643.7
494.7


Dundee West
420
590.3
489.0


Edinburgh Central
256
333.8
352.5


Edinburgh East & Musselburgh
398
532.0
431.6


Edinburgh North & Leith
295
396.2
390.1


Edinburgh Pentlands
299
383.7
335.8


Edinburgh South
298
375.1
348.3


Edinburgh West
330
413.4
316.1


Glasgow Anniesland
353
548.6
426.8


Glasgow Baillieston
416
656.3
614.9


Glasgow Cathcart
330
521.9
460.5


Glasgow Govan
272
450.9
446.7


Glasgow Kelvin
245
375.1
403.7


Glasgow Maryhill
317
506.7
491.2


Glasgow Pollock
366
575.3
499.3


Glasgow Rutherglen
393
605.2
517.7


Glasgow Shettleston
406
710.0
623.3


Glasgow Springburn
451
662.7
616.6



  Source: Ref : ISD IR2005-03080.

  Notes:

  1. Figures for patients with a main diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease are derived from linked records on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals in Scotland (SMR01). The following codes were used from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) tenth revisions: (ICD10): I20-I25

  2. Crude rates have been calculated as the number of discharges divided by the population in each parliamentary constituency multiplied by 100,000. For this analysis populations have been estimated from small area 2001 census populations built up into the constituencies.

  3. Age standardised rates have been calculated under the direct method and rates have been standardised to the European standard population.

Health and Safety

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government in respect of EU Directive 2004/40/EC on physical agents (electromagnetic fields) which seeks to define safe levels for equipment operators’ exposure to electromagnetic fields.

Mr Andy Kerr: EU Directive 2004/40/EC deals with exposure of workers to electromagnetic fields which is a matter reserved to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The HSE is aware of concerns that adoption of the exposure limits defined in the directive might restrict work activities, particularly in medical scanning. The Scottish Executive Health Department is therefore liaising with the HSE and with other relevant departments and agencies regarding the substance of these concerns and any necessary actions.

Health and Safety

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that the proposed exposure limits referred to in EU Directive 2004/40/EC on physical agents (electromagnetic fields) could threaten the ability of the medical community to diagnose and treat patients effectively and have adverse consequences, such as limiting the ability of nurses and parents to comfort children during scans.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive Health Department is aware of these concerns and is liaising on relevant issues with the Health and Safety Executive and other relevant UK departments and agencies.

National Health Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18397 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2005, what the name is of the common infrastructure which allows data to be shared between NHS board systems.

Mr Andy Kerr: Our Scottish Care Information (SCI) infrastructure enables information to be shared between NHS board systems. The key elements of this infrastructure are known as SCI Gateway and SCI Store.

National Health Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18397 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2005, how much work, in (a) person-days and (b) cash terms, is required to configure the common infrastructure to share data between the patient administration systems, the laboratory systems and the radiology systems of NHS Argyll and Clyde and NHS Greater Glasgow.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18397 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2005, how much work, in (a) person-days and (b) cash terms, is required to configure the common infrastructure to share data between the patient administration systems, the laboratory systems and the radiology systems of NHS Argyll and Clyde and NHS Highland.

Mr Andy Kerr: Decisions on specific options to share data have yet to be taken. No estimates of the work required have therefore yet been made, however the work is not expected to be onerous.

National Health Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18397 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2005, whether work to configure the common infrastructure to share data between the patient administration systems, the laboratory systems and the radiology systems of (a) NHS Argyll and Clyde and NHS Greater Glasgow and (b) NHS Argyll and Clyde and NHS Highland will be a one-off exercise or whether it will have to be carried out each time data is to be shared.

Mr Andy Kerr: At the appropriate point when options are considered it is extremely likely that the decision will be to configure the common infrastructure as a one-off exercise and not repeat it each time data is shared.

National Health Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18397 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2005, how old the common infrastructure that allows data to be shared is and on how many occasions the infrastructure has been used to share data between NHS boards.

Mr Andy Kerr: The infrastructure has evolved over the past five years and is in daily use. It is used to share data between GPs and hospitals within single NHS board areas, and is also used for national data sets such as emergency care summary and diabetes.

National Health Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18397 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2005, whether the referred to is suitable for sharing confidential data.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Community Health Index number is suitable for sharing confidential data. This has been confirmed by the Information Commissioner.

National Health Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18397 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2005, whether all hospitals in each NHS board in Scotland are linked to the national Community Health Index number system.

Mr Andy Kerr: Each NHS board and all hospitals requiring a link to the Community Health Index number system are linked. The Scottish Care Information infrastructure required to share information across health boards and hospitals also carries the CHI number.

Nurses

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S2W-19220 by Mr Andy Kerr on 26 September 2005, how many nurses are available at each NHS out-of-hours centre in Glasgow for the purpose of identifying and prioritising patients whose condition has worsened since they contacted NHS 24.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

Physiotherapy

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish physiotherapy students are expected to graduate in 2006 and what the likely number of suitable NHS placements is for them in Scotland.

Mr Andy Kerr: From information available to the department from the three universities who provide physiotherapy courses in Scotland, there will be a total of 194 physiotherapy students due to graduate in 2006.

  The planning of the NHS Scotland workforce to deliver a first class health service, that includes junior physiotherapy posts, is primarily a matter for each of the individual NHS health boards to determine, depending on the patient needs of their local health system in 2006.